After more than two years of political controversy and courtroom disputes, Helis Oil & Gas Co. of New Orleans started drilling an exploratory well Wednesday (June 29) in south-central St. Tammany Parish. A company spokesman said the drilling began shortly after 2 p.m. at the site east of Louisiana 1088 and north of Interstate 12, northeast of Manderville.

"We are in, just now," spokesman Greg Beuerman said. "we're pleased, obviously. It's been a long process, one that we understood we had to go through to get to this point."

"The challenge now is to do the work at hand. I think the eye is firmly on the prize: to do it well and do it in accordance with the permit. We'll analyze it for several months and see where we have."